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NPR's Mike Shuster reports that after many false starts, Iraq has finally agreed to the terms of a UN plan that allows Iraq to sell 2 billion dollars in oil over six months. Iraq could use the hard currency to buy food and medicine. The deal does not mean an end to the sanctions, however.

Jacki Lyden talks politics with editors of three national newspapers. Bob Kittle with the San Diego-Union Tribune, Mindy Cameron with hte Seattle Times, and Tom Bray with the Detroit News. Bob Dole is the focal point of this conversation, and most of these editors say their readers feel Dole made the right move when he announced his resignation from the Senate this week.

The Supreme Court today voted to limit punitive damages. The case involved an Alabama doctor who had been awarded two million dollars because the paint on his new BMW had been touched up. The decision is a victory for manufacturers, but the justices did not provide clear guidance on limits for future awards. NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports.

NPR's Joe Neel reports that scientists have discovered how the AIDS virus gains a foothold in the immune system soon after an individual becomes infected. The long-sought discovery is an important step in understanding how the AIDS virus infects and destroys the immune system. The finding could help explain how some people appear to be able to resist infection, and should lead to new ways to prevent infection and treat people who have already become infected.

Robert celebrates the Tootsie Roll on its hundredth anniversary.

Linda talks to NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem about the reults of yesterday's Israeli elections. It appears as if Benjamin Nehanyahu (net-ahn-YAH-hoo) is the winner by a small margin. We'll hear from voters on the streets of Tel Aviv -- the arguments raised by the campaign for Prime Minister linger. We also hear from Jerusalem Post editor Hirsh Goodman, who says Nehanyahu cannot stray too far from the peace process.

Film critic Bob Mondello reviews "Cold Comfort Farm" by director John Schlesinger -- a tale of a snippy London observer of rural weirdness.

Commentator Mickey Edwards says while it may be tempting for Robert Dole to use this week's whitewater convictions in his campaign...he would be wise not to. He says it is better not to let Whitewater be seen as just a poltical whip...but as a genuine question on the character of the president.

Like many other cities, Philadelphia is dealing with a massive police corruption case. Six officers have already been convicted, but the most serious result of the case is the possibility that dozens of drug convictions could be overturned if the officers involved are convicted. NPR's Eric Westervelt, of member station WHYY, reports. CUTAWAY 1C 0:59 1D 8. TORNADOES -- Noah talks with Officer Richard Hardin of the Hillview Police Department in Hillview, Kentucky, where severe weather injured eight people and destroyed hundreds of homes outside Louisville. Officer Hardin was chased by a tornado yesterday, and tells about his experiences...and the damage left in the wake of the storms.

NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports on some of the impacts Valujet's grounding may have on other low-cost carriers and major airlines, as well as consumers. There is concern that recent events may erode confidence in discount airlines and ultimately increase fares.

NPR's Adam Hochberg reports that Olympic organizers are concnerned about a shortage of workers to fill about 4,000 unskilled jobs at the games. . .jobs like ticket takers, baggage handlers. The jobs pay up to $15 an hour, but response has been poor because they are temporary and because Georgia has a low unemployment rate. Other employers in Atlanta are afraid that the Olympics will try and raid their businesses for workers.

Commentator Lee Cullum writes about the effect of big business on democracy. She claims that the power of markets and big companies is already huge, but still growing...and that government can do very little to stop the forces of commerce.

Robert talks with Jerrold Post, a professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University. They profile General Alexander Lebed, the surprise third-place finisher in last weekend's Russian presidential elections. Lebed threw his support behind Russian president Boris Yeltsin, and in return was named Yeltsin's security advisor.

Linda speaks with David Broder and Haynes Johnson, two top political correspondents with the Washington Post and co-authors of the new book The System which examines how the machinery of government dealt with the problem of health care during the most recent effort by President Clinton to reform the health care apparatus. The 'system' failed to provide a solution to the problem, and authors Broder and Johnson say that failure demonstrates many of the vagaries and deficiencies of modern American politics.

NPR's David Baron reports that an international group of scientists has issued a warning that synthetic chemicals in the environment may be harming children's intelligence and behavior. This concern stems from ongoing studies of chemicals -- such as PCBs and dioxins -- that may disrupt hormones in the body. Skeptics say the evidence of harm is sketchy and comes mostly from animal experiments using far higher levels of the chemicals than most people encounter.

Commentator Jack Beatty says the presidential campaign is already incredibly nasty and he thinks that is in part because there is so little difference between Senator Dole and President Clinton on the issues. He says they have to beat each other up in negative ads because it fills the ideological void.

Robert and Noah talk about today's Supreme Court decision which struck down congressional redistricting laws in Texas and North Carolina. We'll also hear tape from a representative of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and her reaction to the court decision.

In the first of two reports on Mexican immigrants, NPR's David Welna visits a poor town in the Mexican heartland which for the past fifty years has had a steady stream of its young men leave for the United States. Some of those who left Cotija (coh-TEE-ha) are undocumented workers; others have legal status. Most of those who leave return home in the winter months, when work is harder to find. By working the US, they have incomes many times greater than what they could make back home. The migration to the U-S has created a shortage of men in Cotija, but the money they send back is crucial to the town's survival.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that Bob Dole's position on the Republican platform's abortion plank has set the stage for a renewed fight this summer at the party's national convention in San Diego. Conservative state party activists are trying to ensure that delegates to the convention are committed to keeping the plank as it is, calling for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. Dole supports that position, but would like to include language recognizing that there are differences within the party on this issue.

Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary apologized today for mismanaging her expensive overseas official travel. But she also defended the trips, in her testimony before the House Commerce investigations subcommittee. O'Leary said her missions abroad generated business for American firms and benefitted U-S foreign policy. NPR's John Nielsen reports.